Clunky writing, silly plot, overwrought -- everything people don't like about fantasy and not smart enough (and definitely too unapolgetically Eurocentric) to be the sort of fantasy I like. Unfortunate; I was hoping that I'd like it enough to finish out the whole series but I don't think that's going to happen now. ( )

Wanted to like this, but it seems to have been written for those who know the classic tales (Arthur, Tam Lin) better than I do. I was never quite able to follow everything that was going on. Left this one in the hotel room this morning for the next person to try.

And what a shame that this cover shows a white male mage at the New York library when it could have shown a black female Merlin! ( )

I think the first thing to understand when talking about an Elizabeth Bear book is that it will not be a quick, easy read. Bear's work is complex and layered, and she doesn't do hand holding - as a reader, you take the plunge and spend a good deal of time trying to keep your head above water until you get your bearings in her world. Additionally, she doesn't really do the sympathetic protagonist, so feeling connected to her characters is often a challenge.

Blood and Iron tackles a wide range of fantasy tropes - faerie, and Arthurian legend, and werewolves, and Celtic folklore, and dragons, and....it's a lot. There are so many interesting ideas explored, but I'm not sure any of them is given the focus they deserve. There is also a power imbalance in the relationship between Seeker, our main character, and Whiskey, the kelpie she binds, that feels....somehow problematically racial, particularly in today's specific climate.

All that said, Elizabeth Bear is an excellent writer, and I was engaged and excited to read throughout the novel. There were just too many times I felt lost to be able to give this a fully ringing endorsement. Reading Bear's work always makes me feel like I should just be a little bit smarter, and maybe it would work out better for me. I do think I will read the sequel, however, so that's something. ( )

Couldn't stay interested…didn't finish.

This was a tricky one. It was slippery in reading, rife with rich sense detail but with a terribly gentle touch on the unfurling of the plot, and perhaps, as a reader, I just need a firmer hand on the reins. Everything came together very satisfyingly - I found some genuine moments of heart-clenching in the resolutions - and I do very much like some of the concepts, but it never bundled me along with delight in the reading of it. Maybe part of that is that I have low engagement in general with traditional faerie, but I just never felt like she was binding her characters and their driving motivation together tightly enough to be reall compelling.

Still, interesting, and I'm curious about the rest of the series. ( )